New Orleans doesn’t have much of a Delta blues tradition. That would be musically and geographically anomalous, not to mention weird. But this largely acoustic duo, which has been creating a stir on the Frenchmen Street scene of late, knows how to speak the language. Musically, that is: these dozen originals won’t win major points for lyrical originality, sitting as they are inside several established clichés. But they sound comfortable there, not stuck there, and so that’s all right, especially since this pair delivers their take on the idiom with an easy grace that fits right in with their transplanted surroundings. (Bassist Marko Roxx hails from the San Francisco scene; singer/guitarist Frankie King has played all over town, both alone and with his band the Kingsnakes. Guest Pete Bradish provides some unobtrusive percussion here and there.)

This debut won’t cause you to sell your Blind Willie McTell vinyl collection on eBay, but it does provide an accurate snapshot of their live performances, rough but charming as they are. This duo obviously got their blues secondhand from rock gods and folk revivalists, but that’s only because they play it as celebration, not documentary: this is certainly one of the most fun acoustic blues albums you’ll hear this year, and not at the expense of authenticity, either. Tracks like “Crucifiction Blues” and “Independence Day Blues” may remind you of Clapton’s take on Johnson, rather than Johnson himself, but it doesn’t hurt the groove any. Think of this self-titled coming-out party as a way to put ten bucks (I imagine) in these guys’ tip jar. Then go support them live.